Phillip Beale makes sudden plea at trial over mother Joan Beale’s Papatoetoe murder

Open Justice reporter·NZ Herald·6 Oct, 2026 04:00 PM6 mins to read‌Phillip Beale was on trial in the High Court at Auckland accused of beating his 84-year-old mother, Joan Beale, to death. Composite photo / Jason Dorday / SuppliedInitially, Phillip Beale tried to say he was having a “mental breakdown” and couldn’t remember the prolonged beating that killed his 84-year-old mother. On Tuesday morning he told the High Court at Auckland, where he was on trial for murder, that he only remembered “hooking” his mother Joan Beale once,